ANC-AU: 30 Years On, We Remember

SYDNEY: The Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU) has posted the following message in commemoration of the 30th Anniversary of the Spitak Earthquake.

30 YEARS AGO - WE REMEMBER

On 7th December 1988, what became known as the Spitak Earthquake devastatingly struck the Northern part of what was then Soviet Armenia.

The towns of Spitak, Leninakan (now Gyumri), and Kirovakan (now Vanadzor) suffered the greatest impact, with an estimated 25-50,000 deaths and over 130,000 injuries. Homes were lost, lives were turned upside down.

We remember them and mourn with their families.

We are also proud of the response of the the Armenian-Australian community in 1988:

▶️ The Armenian Cultural Centre in Willoughby was converted to a 24-hour call centre to raise emergency funds from the greater Australian community.

▶️ Our community advocacy efforts resulted in then-Health Minister of New South Wales, Peter Collins kicking off the fundraising efforts with a live press conference announcement from the Armenian Cultural Centre Willoughby, that the NSW Government would send $100,000 in emergency aid to Armenia.

▶️ In the days and weeks that followed, over $1 million was raised from the public.

▶️ Telstra (then Telecom) donated and installed up to 20 phone lines to assist with the above efforts.

Many Australians were impacted by the devastation witnessed by the Spitak Earthquake, and this memory stays with them until today. An article in the Sydney Morning Herald recently detailed how Rock Aid Armenia was formed on the back of this tragedy, by Australian environmental campaigner John Dee.